


Courting Rituals

by strawberrylovely



Category: Kallura - Fandom, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Crushes, Dating, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Miscommunication, kallura, this is a kallura centric fic but every relationship is featured
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-02-01 13:54:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12706332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberrylovely/pseuds/strawberrylovely
Summary: Keith tells Hunk he likes Allura but won't ever tell her. Allura overhears and tries to make him confess.





	Courting Rituals

**Author's Note:**

  * For [imperiality](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imperiality/gifts).



> this is a birthday gift for @chickadeecrowns on tumblr! <3 happy birthday boo, here's your straight ship lol

"Ugh, gross. They're at it again," Keith complained to Hunk in the kitchen one morning.

"Who, Lance and Shiro?"

"Yes! It's like they can't spend one second without making heart eyes at each other," he said, staring at the couple as they finished eating and left the room hand-in-hand without a glance in his or Hunk's direction.

"Aw, come on Keith. They just started dating. Of course they're gonna be annoying at first."

"You and Pidge weren't. At least you two can act like normal human beings. Honestly, sometimes I forget that you're even dating."

"Oh, we really are," Hunk smiled fondly.

"Ugh, okay. I know. Sorry I brought it up."

"Geez, Keith. I never knew you were so averse to romance."

"I'm not, I just don't like it when it's shoved into my face all the time. It's like everyone is dating except for me, and it's annoying to be surrounded by couples when you're single."

"We just need to get you a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend, or just whoever you're into."

"I don't like anyone," Keith replied stubbornly.

Except, that wasn't exactly true. He _did_ have feelings for someone, yet that someone was not only way out of his league, but he was pretty sure she still hated him for being Galra.

"Really, dude? No one?"

"Not anyone that matters, no."

"Wait, so you _do_ like someone! You just... can't date them?"

"Can we just drop it so I can go back to hating on romance?"

"No way. Now you have to tell me who it is," Hunk smiled excitedly. "Who is it?"

"I'm not going to be a part of this."

"Is it Pidge? I won't be mad, I promise."

Keith was silent and turned away from his friend.

"Is it Shiro? Oh! It's Lance, isn't it?"

"What the hell?! No! Will you stop guessing if I just tell you?"

"Yes."

"Fine. ...ilikeallura."

"What?"

"I... like Allura."

"You have a crush on the princess?!"

"Hunk! Will you keep your voice down?" Keith said frantically, looking around the kitchen to make sure they were alone.  
"I don't want everyone to know."

"Why not?"

"Hmm, I don't know, because she hates me?"

"She doesn't hate you."

"Are you sure about that?"

"...No. But still, you should tell her! Maybe she likes you back!"

"Nope. I'm perfectly content being single the rest of my life."

"Fine. Have it your way then."

"I will, thanks." He went back to his breakfast, brooding as he took a bite of his food goo.

 

\--

 

Allura had been coming to eat breakfast when she passed by Lance and Shiro making out in the hallway. Clearing her throat made them apart, embarrassed at being caught. She rolled her eyes at the pair but smiled as they scurried off and continued on her way. She'd nearly reached the kitchen when she paused at hearing her own named muttered. Well, she thought she'd heard it.

"I... like Allura," Keith's voice said more clearly.

Okay so she definitely had. 

"You have a crush on the princess?!" she heard Hunk's voice exclaim in response.

"Hunk! Will you keep your voice down? I don't want everyone to know."

Why wouldn't Keith want people to know?

"Why not?"

"Hmm, I don't know, because she hates me?"

 _I don't hate him_ , she thought to herself

"She doesn't hate you."

_Thank you, Hunk._

"Are you sure about that?"

_Yes!_

"...No."

_Hunk!_

"But still, you should tell her! Maybe she likes you back!"

_I..._

"Nope. I'm perfectly content being single the rest of my life."

_Oh..._

"Fine. Have it your way then."

"I will, thanks."

Allura wasn't hungry anymore. She went back to her room, knowing she had some thinking to do. Keith thought she hated him? That wasn't true at all. Sure, she was mad at first when it was discovered that he was part Galra, but she was well over that by now and definitely didn't hate Keith. She...well. How did she feel about him?

"I like him as a friend," she told the mice. "I think. Do you normally wish to hold a friend's hand? Or, wish to hug them again? And maybe..."

The mice looked at her with faces of disbelief.

"Oh, no. Mice, I think I like Keith back. But what should I do? He just said he wouldn't ever tell me. Maybe I should show him I like him! Do something that lets him know I wish to...date, was it? Yes. I want to date him."

_Squeak, squeak!_

"Oh, you're right! I'll go ask Coran."

 

\--

 

"Coran?" Allura said as she walked into the engineering room where said ginger was working.

"Yes, Princess?"

"Do you know how the Galra try to court one another?"

"Galra?" he asked, moving towards her and away from a machine. "To my knowledge, the male kills something for the female and presents it to her. If she likes it, then she accepts his request. If not, she chops his arm off! Or something like that."

"Oh. Well. Do you know of something a female might die for a male? Something subtler? Less...killing?"

"Hmm... I suppose she would sharpen his axe for him. To show interest or loyalty."

_Axe? I could sharpen Keith's knife for him..._

"That just might work. Thanks, Coran!"

"Princess?"

"Yes?"

"May I ask why you want to know about Galran courting rituals?"

"Oh, uh... No reason," she waved off.

"...Alright. You have a good day then. And stay away from any Galra!"

"I will!" she called behind her while she ran to the room of the ship's very own Galran inhabitant.

 

\--

 

"Keith!"

"Allura?"

It was an hour later when Allura found Keith walking hastily down the hallway.

"Hey..." she tried nonchalantly. "I have something for you."

She laid the knife on the palms of her hands and moved it towards the boy in front of her. He looked at it, then at her, then back at the knife and carefully took it from her hands.

"So you had it?" he finally said.

"Yes! I sharpened it for you!"

"Allura, I've been looking- Wait, what?"

"I sharpened it...for you. You know, since you use it a lot I thought it could use a refresher."

He looked it over, making sure nothing seemed out of place and even touched the tip to test the sharpness.

"Thank you. That's very nice of you," he said, apparently impressed with Allura's work.

"You're very welcome, Keith."

"Hey, so uh, if you don't mind I'm just gonna..." He pointed behind him in the direction he'd previously been going.

"By all means!"

He smiled and turned around, walking down the hallway and out of sight.

"Ugh," she slumped. "Well, that didn't work."

She thought for a moment to herself, wondering how she could get Keith to get the hint. If the Galran approach didn't work, maybe the human approach would. So she should ask a human how to woo another human. 

"Lance and Shiro!" she snapped. "I bet they know, what with all the wooing Lance always does."

 

\--

 

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

"Uh, just a minute," a voice behind the door answered.

After a few muffled giggles and shushes, Lance's bedroom door slid open and a bruised collar and messy haired Lance leaned against the doorframe.

"Hey there, Princess," he said, running a hand through his hair both to be flirty and to tame it down. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Kitten, come back to- Oh! Hello, Princess," Shiro said awkwardly, walking up behind Lance and looking no less of a mess.

"Sorry to...interrupt," she tried to hide her blush. "But I was wondering what you did to woo each other and start dating."

"That's simple," Lance started. "It was a nice evening in the lounge and we were hanging out, just the two of us. He was looking beautiful as ever, so I gave him a couple of lines-"

"Terrible lines," Shiro interrupted.

"He loved them. Anyway, he started blushing like crazy and then kissed me. Shortly after, we started dating."

"There was a little more discussion than that, but yes, that's basically what happened."

"You gave him...lines?" Allura asked, confused.

"Yeah, pick-up lines. You know, like...'Hey, baby. Come here often?' or 'I lost my number, can I have yours?' That sort of thing."

"Why would you ask if he came here often? We're all here together every day."

"I didn't originate that line," Lance laughed. "It's typically meant for someone you've just met, but it's a classic line, so everyone knows you're trying to flirt when you use it."

"Oh! So _every_ human knows?"

"I mean, yeah. Unless they've lived under a rock their whole life."

"Perfect."

"Are you trying to flirt with someone, Princess?" Shiro asked.

"What? Uh- n-no! I just...want to learn more about human dating culture, since everyone else seems to be dating now."

"Ohh, I see what's going on," Lance said, a smug look on his face.

"You do?"

"Yeah. You're sad that you missed your chance with me. Sorry, Princess. I'm with Shiro now, and no amount of pick-up lines is going to win me from him."

Lance put a hand on Shiro's chest and they smiled at each other before Shiro gave Allura a look that said 'I'm so sorry for the way he is.'

"...Whatever you say, Lance," she shook her head playfully. "Thank you both for the insight. I will leave you to your...activities."

"Goodbye, Allura," Shiro said.

"Goodbye, Shiro. Oh, and Lance?"

"Hmm?"

"Your shirt is on backwards."

The boys blushed and shut the door quickly, making her smile to herself as she walked away to find Keith again.

 

\--

 

The red paladin was in the training room, battling a bot with his knife when Allura walked in.

"End training sequence," he said when he noticed her, running over to where she was. "Hey, Allura!"

"Hello again, Keith."

"You were right, my knife _did_ need sharpening! It's so much easier to slice through the bots now. Thank you!"

"I'm glad it helped. Sorry for taking it without asking, by the way. I wanted to surprise you."

"That's alright. I'm just glad it was you and not Lance or Pidge that had taken it. They would have broken it, but you made it so much better."

Allura tried to hide her pink cheeks at his comment, walking past him to the middle of the room and looking at the discarded bots on the floor. This was her chance to use the 'line' that Lance gave her.

"You've been training hard, I see. Uh, do you come here often?" she asked, hoping she'd said it right.

She looked up and gave her best 'Lance smile,' but Keith just looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes? This is the training room... I'm here everyday."

"Right. Of course. Sorry," she recovered. "I just mean- I'm glad you have been staying consistent with your training. Keep up the good work!"

Walking past Keith again, she mentally cursed Lance for leading her astray. She was almost out the door when a hand caught her arm and she turned around at the soft sound of her name.

"Are you alright? You've been acting weird today."

"Oh, yes. I'm fine. Thank you for worrying, Keith. I think the stress of saving the universe is just getting to me."

"Well, take it easy, okay Princess?"

"I promise. Don't train too hard."

"Do you know me?" he teased, backing away to the training floor again and smiling at her.

Oh, how that smile did something to her insides.

She watched him start up a new training sequence and take down a bot, silently cheering when it fell, then went to find Pidge.

 

\--

 

"I just don't understand. Lance said _everyone_ knew that line, yet Keith acted as if I was crazy for not knowing he was there everyday. Which, by the way, I _did_ know."

"Lance is an idiot," Pidge said, looking up at Allura from her work on the floor. "The only reason those pick up lines worked on Shiro is because he already had feelings for Lance."

"But Keith has feelings for me. Shouldn't it have worked on him?"

"He's lived in a shack alone for like, years. He probably didn't even know it was a line. Plus, they don't work on everybody. Definitely don't work on me."

"So Hunk didn't use lines on you?"

"Nope."

"Then how did you two get together?"

"We already hung out all the time anyway. One day, we were in here working and Hunk just came right out and told me he liked me. I said I liked him back and we basically continued on how we were, except with the occasional couple-y stuff."

"So he just said he liked you and that was it?"

"Yup."

"Great," she said sarcastically. "Keith said he'd _never_ tell me. He also thinks I hate him for some reason, which is the complete opposite of how I feel."

"Why don't you just tell him, then?"

"What? Me?"

"Yeah. That's probably the only way he'll get it anyway."

"I was hoping he would make the first move. He _is_ the male."

"Yeah... Wait, what?"

"From what I know of both human and Galran courting, the male is supposed to make the first move! Ugh, Shiro and Lance have it so easy, they're both men."

"Uh, yeah I think everyone on Earth would disagree with you on that," Pidge muttered. "But listen. The male absolutely does not have to make the first move. You're a princess for goodness sake! Just tell him how you feel and then neither of you will have to dance around each other like you have been."

"I suppose you're right," Allura agreed. "Thank you, Pidge. Honestly, I think you've been the most helpful today."

"Glad to be of service," the green paladin said, not looking up from the device she was tinkering with. "Now go get your man...or something."

"I will!"

 

\--

 

Keith had just taken down his tenth bot in a row when Shiro came in to train with him.

"Hey! Nice form, Keith."

"Thanks, Shiro. I've been perfecting that move since this morning."

"Have you been in here all day?"

"Yeah, aren't I always?"

"Yes, but you need to take it easy so you don't wear yourself down."

"I know. I've just had a lot on my mind recently."

"Have you? You know you can always talk to me if you're having problems, Keith."

"I know. But you've been with Lance recently, so..."

"Right, sorry. I know you probably think me dating Lance is weird-"

"No, no, I'm happy for you. Really," Keith said, giving a small smile. "And I'm alright. I talked to Hunk a little bit this morning. It helped for a while, but as the day progressed I've just felt more confused than anything."

"What did you talk about?"

"I...like someone."

"And you didn't tell me? Who is it? Oh..." his face dropped. "Is it Lance? I won't be mad if it is."

"What?! No! Why does everyone think- No. It's _not Lance_. It's..." Keith took a deep breath. "It's Allura."

"Ah," Shiro smirked.

"Yeah, and Hunk said I should tell her, but I can't. I mean, first of all, she's a princess and like, way out of my league. And secondly, I'm pretty sure she hates me."

"She doesn't hate you."

"Yeah, Hunk said that, too," Keith sighed.

"So, why have you felt progressively confused today?"

"Allura's been acting weird towards me all day. She took my knife without telling me and then sharpened it because she wanted to 'surprise me'? Then later she came in while I was training and asked if I 'come here often,' as if she didn't know that I'm literally always in here."

"Wait. She asked if you 'come here often?' Like, those exact words?" Shiro asked, smile growing on his face.

"Yeah, it was weird."

"Keith. She was flirting with you."

"What? No way."

"Yes. She came to talk to Lance and me earlier and he told her that exact line. We didn't know why she was asking about our relationship, but now it's obvious that she was trying to figure out how to get your attention. Her sharpening your knife was probably part of that, too."

"I mean, it did help with taking down bots more easily..."

"Keith, she likes you. You should tell her you like her back."

"But-"

"Nope, no 'buts.' Go find her right now and tell her."

"Shiro, we were supposed to train together."

"You've been practicing all day. Take a break, soldier. We'll meet up again later."

"You just want more time with Lance."

"Well, that _is_ a plus. Now, go!" Shiro said, pushing Keith gently in the direction of the door.

"Okay, okay. I'm going!"

Keith started slow, but as he reached the door he'd sped into a run, hoping to find Allura before she tried anything else.

 

 

\--

 

 

"Keith!"

"Allura!"

They'd nearly collided in the hallway as they both turned the corner looking for each other.

"Hello, Keith," Allura said as she straightened her dress. "I'm glad I found you."

"Me too, Princess."

"I have something I want to tell you..."

"So do I."

"Oh! Please, you go first, then."

"Um, okay. I'm...not sure how to say this because I've never done it before. And honestly I wasn't even planning on telling you, but Shiro told me I _had_ to because he's somehow convinced that you feel the same way and so, basically..." he paused, rubbing the back of his neck embarrassedly. "I like you, Allura."

"Well," Allura said, looking down to the floor and then back up at Keith, "Shiro was right."

His cheeks flushed as Keith realized what Allura meant.

"So you like me too?"

"Of course. That's why I've been 'acting weird,' as you said. I've been trying to get you to tell me how you feel by showing I was interested, but you never caught on."

"Wait, you knew?"

"I- Yes. I heard you and Hunk talking about it this morning and you said you would never tell me. But I wanted you to tell me, because I like you too."

" _You_ could have just told _me_ , you know?"

"You know now, don't you?"

"We both do," he smiled. "So now what?"

"Oh. No one told me what to do once our feelings for each other were confessed."

"I think maybe we should go on a date somewhere," Keith said extending a hand towards her.

Allura looked at Keith's hand before raising her own and carefully placing it in his. He smiled at her, then bent down to place a kiss on her slender knuckles.

"What do you think, Princess?" he asked.

Blushing at the gesture, she moved their hands to entwine.

"I think that would be wonderful," she smiled. "Oh! Also-"

"Whoah-!" he yelped as she pulled him to her.

Their lips crashed into each other rather forcefully, but neither seemed to mind the slight twinge of pain as they relaxed into each other. It was over as quick as it happened, however, as Allura pushed them apart.

"What was that for?" Keith asked, face completely red.

"Just in case you still thought I hated you."

"In that case, I might need some more convincing," he smirked.

"Gladly," she said, drifting towards him and pressing their lips together once more.

\--

The next morning, Keith and Allura walked into breakfast hand in hand, faces tinted pink with adoration.

"That didn't take long," Hunk teased his friends.

"Yeah, we confessed yesterday and then stayed up most of the night just talking everything out," Keith said.

Hunk passed him and Allura a plate and they sat down around the counter with the rest of the team.

"So you guys are officially dating now?" Lance asked.

"Since we are both new to relationships and that sort of thing, we'll be taking it slow and figuring it out together, but yes," Allura responded, smiling at Keith. "We are 'officially dating.'"

"I'm happy for you both," Shiro smiled, his arm happily placed around Lance's hip.

"Wow, we're all dating now. How'd that work out?" Keith asked, taking in the group.

"I'm not sure, but you know what this means?" Lance said mischievously. "We gotta have a Best Couple competition! We'll start by who's the best at making out. Ready? Go!"

Lance pulled a surprised (but happy) Shiro to him and started kissing him loudly.

"Uh, no thanks," Pidge said, hopping off her seat and pulling Hunk with her.

"Wait, Pidge, you didn't finish your breakfast!" Hunk called after her.

"I've lost my appetite."

Keith laughed and shook his head at the two and turned to Allura, completely ignoring the men at the other end of the counter.

"I guess we'll have to come up with a rule about no PDA at the table, now," he said.

"Hmm, I think it can wait," Allura responded, leaning over to kiss Keith's cheek.

"I think you're right."


End file.
